Morning in the Palace
by Rosepixie
Summary: A series of very short stories about characters from Disney's Sleeping Beauty in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.
1. Aurora

Princess Aurora opened her eyes and looked up at the draped silken canopy that hung over her head. For a few minutes, she simply lay very still like that. She felt her breath going in and out, her chest rising and falling. Her heart was racing, but the slow, even breaths were helping to slow it back down to a normal speed.

It had been only a few days since she had awoken from her cursed sleep and she still panicked just a little bit every time she woke up, fearing the curse had come back. As bad as mornings were, though, going to bed at night was always much, much worse.

When her breathing and heartbeat had returned to normal, Aurora carefully pushed herself up and climbed out of the high bed. A silver bell-pull hung over her wash-basin and she pulled it, summoning a servant. While she waited for her attendant to arrive, she began to wash her face and hands using the fresh water in her golden washbasin. A servant must come and fill it while she was still asleep, for it was fresh, warm water every morning and she had yet to see anyone change it.

A waiting woman bustled into the room, smiling broadly.

"Good morning, your highness," she cooed as she bobbed a curtsy.

"Good morning, Lilla," Aurora replied with a smile.

She watched the young woman cross the room and throw open a large wardrobe. She liked Lilla and the rest of the people in the palace, but she missed the three good fairies who had raised her. It was nice that they now got to return to their fairy lives, but they had been the only people Aurora had ever met until a week ago. She found that she missed them a great deal now that they were gone. They had promised to return for her wedding, which she was glad of, but that didn't make her miss them any less.

"Pink or blue today, your highness?" Lilla asked as she held up two gowns for Aurora to choose between.

With a smile, Aurora crossed the room and reached past the waiting woman to pluck a violet gown from the dozens that hung there.

"How about today we compromise?"


	2. Fauna

Fauna stretched her arms and fluttered her wings behind her. They always felt stiff after sleep. For the first few days after she had gotten them back they had frightened her every morning until she had remembered what they were. Sixteen years is a long time and she had forgotten the feeling of them being there. She was pretty used to them again now, though.

Her sisters, Flora and Merryweather, were so happy to have their wands and wings back, but Fauna wasn't so pleased with it. She had enjoyed living as a human in their snug little cabin in the woods. In a way, she missed it.

She crept quietly to the edge of the upper balcony, trying not to wake up her sisters. She slept much more lightly than either of them and wondered what had woken her up.

Far below the balcony lay the grand royal throne room of King Stefan and his Queen. The three fairies had decided to stick close to Briar Rose until after her wedding, but out of sight so that the princess could adjust to her new life in the palace without them. Fauna hated that thought, but she knew that it was the way thing had to be.

The princess was not in the throne room, but her father and King Hubert (her fiance's father) were there. Both were laughing over what appeared to be a pile of weapons that a page had apparently dropped at their feet. The poor page was hovering over the pile and apologizing profusely. Fauna decided that while the pile of weaponry explained what had woken her up, they weren't in any need of her assistance with it.

The green-clad fairy turned back to the room that she and her sisters were currently using. They had used magic to make the unused room more comfortable for themselves, but Fauna could see the dust and cobwebs in the corners. At least cleaning was easier with a wand!

With a wrist flick, Fauna began to magically clean up the room. This would occupy her until her sisters woke up.


	3. Phillip

Green fire and bone-tingling laughter swirled around him unceasingly. Panicked, he pushed through the thick smoke holding the enchanted shield in front of his face. As he attempted to squint through the blinding flames, the smoke made his eyes burn and sting.

Finally, he found himself at his goal, standing beside her bier. One glance down at her showed that he was too late. Fire licked at her gown and hair, her skin was already all but blackened by it. The charred corpse turned to look at him with violet eyes as the dragon rose up behind her, laughing.

"How could you forsake me?" she cried. "How could you let me die? I thought you loved me!"

SB SB SB SB SB

Prince Phillip jolted awake. He and his silken bedding were completely drenched in sweat and his heart was beating like a drum trying to escape his chest. He gasped for breath and ran his hands through his tousled hair.

Every night since he had saved Aurora he had suffered some version of this dream. The green fire and the evil fairy's laughter denied him the restorative sleep he so badly needed after his ordeal - the time in her prison, the fight, the fear.

As he ran his hands through his hair and gazed out at the sky just showing hints of dawn, Phillip wondered how Aurora was doing. She seemed so serene every time he saw her. It must not be haunting her the way it was him. After all, she had slept through the worst of it. She probably barely remembered anything but waking up. They hadn't really spoken of it. Of course, with every day filled with feasting and celebration there was hardly time for serious discussions. Still, he didn't want to inflict his nightmares on his beautiful bride, especially if she was not haunted by the events of her curse as he was.

As Phillip laid back again on his pillows, he swore again to conquer this before his wedding day. To give his princess only the best he had to offer her. She should never have to know how terrible the curse really had been or how close they had all come to losing her. How close he had come to failing.


End file.
